Platform rebrands to The Co-operative Bank for Intermediaries
25 September 2023
3 min read
- From today (25 September), Platform will rebrand to The Co-operative Bank for Intermediaries
- A new and simplified application system, Broker Portal, will also launch today.
From today (25 September), Platform, the intermediary lender of The Co-operative Bank, will rebrand to become The Co-operative Bank for Intermediaries.
The rebrand is part of the bank’s ongoing transformation and technology upgrade programme, which will help to deliver a customer-focused service and simplify the application journey through a new system, Broker Portal.
Broker Portal uses intuitive technology to enable product innovation, allowing the bank to deliver products that it knows customers need. The first new product launch includes a range of residential interest only mortgages, which will give customers a choice of how to repay their mortgage.
In addition to launching residential interest only mortgages, The Co-operative Bank for Intermediaries will also be improving its offering from today by:
- Increasing the maximum loan size on Buy-to-Let products to £750,000
- Increasing the maximum loan size at 95% LTV from £350,000 to £500,000
- Increasing the maximum loan size at 90% LTV from £500,000 to £600,000
- Replacing the two year tracker with a lifetime tracker.
Platform has supported intermediaries for over 20 years and is guided by The Co-operative Bank’s unique customer-led Ethical Policy. The bank is committed to not providing banking services to any organisation that conflicts with its customer-led Ethical Policy. It will not, for example, provide banking services to any organisation whose activity contributes to global climate change or the destruction of ecosystems. This includes the bank’s strong stance on refusing to finance fossil fuel extraction or production, a position it has held for over 20 years.
The Co-operative Bank for Intermediaries is committed to delivering competitively priced products and offering clear lending criteria. It will provide a smooth application process and champion an ethical approach, setting it apart from the rest of the industry.
Fred Sharp, Director of Intermediary Distribution at The Co-operative Bank, said:
“Close alignment to The Co-operative Bank brand is important as we continue to strengthen our position as the original ethical bank and provide consumers with an ethical alternative.
Our new application system, Broker Portal, will allow both brokers and customers to benefit from more efficient technology and will give us the flexibility to introduce new products and services, such as the residential interest only mortgages launching today.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
For more information on The Co-operative Bank for Intermediaries residential interest-only mortgages, please visit: www.intermediary.co-operativebank.co.uk
Mortgages that make a difference – in partnership with youth homelessness charity Centrepoint
The Co-operative Bank for Intermediaries is committed to making a donation to Centrepoint for every new mortgage it provides. This money is used to fund Centrepoint’s national Helpline. The charity saw a record number of calls to the Helpline in 2022, direct evidence that the cost of living crisis is pushing more young people into homelessness. It's forecast that this trend will continue in 2023, as young people struggle to meet rent and bill payments.
The bank’s donations, which are paid quarterly for eligible completions during the previous quarter, have allowed the Helpline team to recruit two additional staff to the team who cover the lines from 9am to 5pm every weekday. More than 7,325 young people were supported by the Helpline in 2022 with 9,630 calls and 1,711 web chats answered.
Centrepoint is a registered charity in England and Wales, No. 292411.
Media enquiries:
Victoria Camidge, PR Manager
E: victoria.camidge@co-operativebank.co.uk
M: 0785 7113 650
About The Co-operative Bank
The Co-operative Bank plc provides a full range of banking products and services to retail and SME (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) customers and is committed to values and ethics in line with the principles of the co-operative movement.
In 1992, The Co-operative Bank took the pioneering step to become the first UK bank to launch a customer-led Ethical Policy, which gives the Bank’s customers a say on the ethical issues that are important to them, and how the Bank could help. These answers form the basis of our Ethical Policy, shaping the Bank’s ethical commitments, the way in which it will use customer’s money and the issues it will campaign for. Since 1992, the Ethical Policy remains unique in the UK and has been updated six times in consultation with the Bank’s customers, to reflect their changing priorities.
Contact
The Co-operative Bank Press Office
Landline: 0151 271 1985
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